September 2009

September started off with an amazing surprise trip home to Seattle for Brian's mom's 60th birthday...Rachel was beyond surprised, speechless, teary, and so joyful to have her son and daughter-in-law home. We are so glad we were able to celebrate her 60th with her and true to fashion, she celebrated with good family and friends, laughter, good food and wine galore! Our trip home was short and jam-packed with much needed shopping, appointments, and of course special time with family and friends. We were not able to see all those that we wanted to see...so, apologies for those that did not know we were coming in town, we didn't tell anyone for several reasons. One, to keep it a surprise, and two, because we weren't sure the amount of time we would have to see everyone.

We LOVED meeting the new lil' ones that have become an amazing part of our friends' lives; meeting them really made us feel that much more connected to the intimate ins and outs of their life. We met Avery Grace, Bennett Forrester, Maeve (read about her in my next blog), J.D., and Emmett...all such precious, adorable children with personalities to match.

So, what did we bring back to Dublin? Clothes, shoes, 16-pack of Venus razor blades from Costco, 3-pack Secret deodorant, peanut butter M&Ms, fitness equipment, emergen-C, Chex Mix, among some other items. Ahhh, the luxuries and taste of home.

Brian's shoulder injury update: torn rotator cuff, torn tendon, and bone fragments floating around which equals surgery and a good amount of recovery time. Surgery date is tentatively for Oct/Nov. Brian's ultimate goal is to be able to play football again...with his will and determination, he'll be playing come next season.

While his football season is over, we are overjoyed at the NFL season starting! The Hawks and Bears are always on our radar...while I'll always be a Bears fan at heart, I do rally and support the Hawks wholeheartedly. It makes for great fun when the Feders and Carters start slagging each other about which team is the best. So, slainte to another great NFL season...